<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html lang="en-US">
    <head>
        <title>ICESAT-2</title>
        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
        <meta name="description" content="Template by Colorlib" />
        <meta name="keywords" content="HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP" />
        <meta name="author" content="Colorlib" />
        <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1">

        <link rel="shortcut icon" href="images/favicon.png" />
        <link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Montserrat:400,700%7CPT+Serif:400,700' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'>
        <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"  href='css/clear.css' />
        <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"  href='css/common.css' />
        <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"  href='css/font-awesome.min.css' />
        <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"  href='css/carouFredSel.css' />
        <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"  href='css/sm-clean.css' />
        <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"  href='style.css' />

        <!--[if lt IE 9]>
                <script src="js/html5.js"></script>
        <![endif]-->

    </head>


    <body class="single-post single">

        <div class="doc-loader"></div>

        <div class="content-1170 header-holder center-relative">
            <div class="header-logo left">
                <a href="index.html">
                    <img src="https://www.nasa.gov/sites/all/themes/custom/nasatwo/images/nasa-logo.svg" alt="NASA">
                </a>
            </div>

            <div class="header-menu">
                <div class="toggle-holder relative">
                    <div id="toggle">
                        <div class="one"></div>
                        <div class="two"></div>
                        <div class="three"></div>
                    </div>
                </div>

                <nav id="header-main-menu" class="big-menu">
                    <ul class="main-menu sm sm-clean">
                        <li><a href="https://off-to-space.github.io/TERRA/">TERRA</a></li>
                        <li><a href="https://off-to-space.github.io/AURA/">AURA</a></li>
                        <li><a href="https://off-to-space.github.io/AQUA/">AQUA</a></li>
                        <li><a href="https://off-to-space.github.io/SORCE/">SORCE</a></li>
                        <li><a href="https://off-to-space.github.io/ICESAT2/">ICESAT-2</a>

                        </li>
                    </ul>
                </nav>
                <div class="clear"></div>
            </div>
            <div class="clear"></div>
        </div>

        <div id="content" class="site-content center-relative">
            <div class="header-image">
                <img src="https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/icesat2-hqprint.jpg" alt=""></div>
            <article class="content-1170 center-relative">
                <div class="content-wrapper">
                    <h1 class="entry-title">
                        ICEsat-2
                    </h1>
                    <div class="post-info">
                        <div class="cat-links">
                            <ul>
                                <li><a href="#"></a></li>
                            </ul>
                        </div>
                        <div class="post-date"></div>
                        <div class="post-author"><a href="#"></a></div>
                        <div class="post-read-time"></div>
                        <div class="post-num-comments"><a href="#"></a></div>
                    </div>

                    <div class="entry-content">
                      <h5>INTRO</h5>
                        <p>Earth’s frozen regions – the cryosphere – are changing rapidly in our warming climate. Our planet&#39;s
frozen and icy areas, called the cryosphere, are a key focus of NASA&#39;s Earth science research. ICESat-
2 is a satellite mission for measuring ice sheet elevation and sea ice thickness, as well as land
topography, vegetation characteristics, and clouds. It will provide topography measurements of
cities, lakes and reservoirs, oceans and land surfaces around the globe, in addition to the polar-
specific coverage and also has the ability to detect seafloor topography up to 100 feet (30m) below
the surface in clear watered coastal areas. One of the main purposes of ICESat-2 is measuring the
changing of the elevation of ice sheets by its laser system and lidar to quantify the influence of
melting ice sheet in sea-level raising.

                        </p>
                        <br>
                        <h5>LAUNCH</h5>
                        <p>Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite 2 or ICESat-2, is a follow-on to the ICESat mission, was
launched on 15 September 2018 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The ICESat-2
spacecraft was built and tested by Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems in Gilbert, Arizona, while
the on-board instrument, ATLAS, was built and managed by Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, Maryland. The satellite was launched on a Delta II rocket provided by United Launch
Alliance. This was the last launch of the Delta II rocket.

                        </p>
                        <br>

                        <h5>SPACE LASERS
                        </h5>
                        <br>
                        <p>ICESat-2&#39;s sole instrument, the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System, or ATLAS collects
elevation data using six laser beams - which gives the new mission much denser coverage of Earth&#39;s
surface. ATLAS measures the travel times of laser pulses to calculate the distance between the
spacecraft and Earth’s surface. ATLAS is sensitive enough to detect individual photons, and has such
a rapid firing rate, the instrument will be able to detect both the forest floor and the tops of
canopies in all but the densest woods and jungles. The original ICESat had a single laser beam,
collecting data in a grid shown to the left. With ICESat-2&#39;s six laser beams, the satellite will be able to
take measurements in a much denser grid.
                       </p>
                        <br>
                        <h5>ATLAS</h5>
                        <p>ATLAS will feature new technologies that will allow it to collect a more detailed, precise picture of
the heights of the planet’s ice, vegetation, land surface, water and clouds. As it orbits over the poles,
ATLAS has three major tasks: Send pulses of laser light to the ground, collect the returning photons
in a telescope, and record the photon travel time. A notable attribute of ATLAS is that engineers
enabled the satellite to control how it is positioned in space, which is relevant because ATLAS
records the distance from itself to the ground, and if its position is off, the measurement recorded
for Earth&#39;s elevation will be off as well. Engineers also constructed the laser reference system, which
confirms that the laser is adjusted in accordance to the telescope. If either the telescope or the laser
is off, the satellite can make its own adjustments accordingly. The trip from ATLAS to Earth and back
takes about 3.3 milliseconds, give or take a microsecond.
                        </p>
                        <br>
                        <h5>THE FOUR SCIENCE OBJECTIVES</H5>
                        <p>1. Measure how much melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica contribute to sea
level changes<br>
2. Measure how ice sheets, glaciers and more are gaining or losing mass in different
regions, to help researchers understand the mechanisms behind<br>
4. Measure the height of forests to calculate the amount of vegetation in a region<br>

                        </p>
                        <br>


                        <br>
                    </div>
                    <div class="clear"></div>
                    <div class="full-width-content">
                        <div class="wp-caption">
                            <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/03IaQo8ou5M" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
                            <p class="wp-caption-text"><span class="image-caption-text"></span></p>
                        </div>
                        <div class="clear"></div>
                    </div>
                    <div class="resume-entry-content">
                        <br>
                        <h5>APPLICATIONS</h5>
                        <p>ICESat-2&#39;s Applications program is designed to engage people and organizations who plan to use the
data, before the satellite launches. Selected from a pool of applicants, this Science Definition Team
represents experts in a wide variety of scientific fields including hydrology, atmospheric science,
oceanography, and vegetation science. The goal of this group is to communicate the vast
capabilities of the ICESat-2 mission with the greater scientific community, with the aim to diversify
and innovate new methods and techniques from the collected data.
                        </p>
                        <br>
                        <p></p>
                        <div class="clear"></div>
                    </div>
                    <div class="clear"></div>
                </div>


            </article>
        </div>


        <!--Footer-->

        <footer class="footer">
            <div class="content-1170 center-relative">
                <ul>
                    <li class="left-footer-content">
                         <i class="fa fa-heart"></i> by <a href="" target="_blank">Off to Space</a>.
                    </li>
                    <li class="center-footer-content">
                        <a href="index.html">
                            <img src="https://www.nasa.gov/sites/all/themes/custom/nasatwo/images/nasa-logo.svg" alt="Katt">
                        </a>
                    </li>
                    <li class="right-footer-contnet">
                        <a href="https://off-to-space.github.io/quiz/">Quiz</a>
                        <a href="https://off-to-space.github.io/BIBLIOGRAPHY/">Bibliography</a>
                        <a href="https://off-to-space.github.io/TEAM/">Team</a>

                    </li>
                    <li class="left-footer-content mobile">
                         <i class="fa fa-hert"></i><a href="" target="_blank"></a>.
                    </li>
                </ul>
            </div>
        </footer>





        <!--Load JavaScript-->
        <script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery.js"></script>
        <script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery.smartmenus.min.js"></script>
        <script type="text/javascript" src="js/queryloader2.min.js"></script>
        <script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery.carouFredSel-6.0.0-packed.js"></script>
        <script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery.mousewheel.min.js"></script>
        <script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery.touchSwipe.min.js"></script>
        <script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery.easing.1.3.js"></script>
        <script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery.nicescroll.min.js"></script>
        <script type="text/javascript" src="js/main.js"></script>
    </body>
</html>
